Ardent Leisure shares fall 15% as Dreamworld inquest findings paint damning picture

Shares in Dreamworld owner Ardent Lesiure have taken a steep dive after damning findings of an inquest into the Thunder River Rapids tragedy were revealed.

SHARES in Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure fell sharply this morning after a coroner handed down a damning verdict about the Thunder River Rapids tragedy.

In intraday trading shares fell 15.2 per cent to $1.195 before closing down further at $1.18.

Coroner James McDougall said “shoddy record keeping” and the lack of a competent person to conduct risk assessment contributed to the 2016 tragedy, which claimed the lives of four people.

Ardent’s share price fall also comes in the wake of poor results announced by the company on Friday.

The company revealed that Dreamworld had still not fully recovered from the Thunder River Rapids disaster, and was unlikely to break even for the second half of the financial year despite a strong Christmas trading period.

In a statement this morning Ardent Leisure Theme Parks Division Chief Executive Officer, John Osborne, said the company would take time to review the cororner’s findings.

“Ardent Leisure, owner and operator of Dreamworld, has received the Coroner’s findings and recommendations released today, 24th of February 2020, following the coronial inquest into the Thunder River Rapids Ride tragedy on the 25th of October 2016,” Mr Osborne said.

“First and foremost, we express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Roozbeh Araghi, Luke Dorsett, Kate Goodchild and Cindy Low. Our thoughts are also with the first responders, emergency services personnel, investigators, counsellors and Dreamworld team members affected by this tragedy.

“We would like to acknowledge the attendance and involvement of the families, witnesses and all other participants in the inquest process, as well as the Coroner and his team.

“We will now review the Coroner’s report in detail.”

Originally published as Ardent Leisure shares fall 15% as Dreamworld inquest findings paint damning picture